Why Paleo?
Diet: di·et /ˈdī-it/:
Noun: The kinds of food a person, animal or community habitually consumes.
Verb: Restrict oneself to small amounts or special kinds of food in order to lose weight.
Would you rather have a “restriction” or a “habit”? Personally, I’d rather form a healthy habit. So I’ve decided to incorporate the Paleo Diet into my normal routine.
The idea behind eating paleo is to “eat like a cave man”. But why? Humans have been evolving for a very long time. A few centuries ago, we discovered if you stayed in one place, you could grow your own plants and raise your own animals. We also found out it was easier to live in larger groups, and share the work. Communities were born. Farming was invented. We could build fences to keep predators out, pool our resources and help each other. The fact that we didn’t have to work as hard to gather/hunt for our food, find and/or build shelter among other things, made life MUCH, MUCH easier.
Due to how “easy” life became, our evolution came to a grinding halt. Literally. As a human race, we are essentially genetically identical to our hunter/gatherer ancestors. Therefore, our bodies TODAY are made to function the same way they did thousands of years ago when we were eating real food that was available from mother nature. In other words our modern diet, including breads, grains, pasta, dairy, and perhaps worst of all sugar, is sabotaging our bodies, our health, and our society as a whole.
To maximize your genetic* potential and function optimally, not only should you be getting adjusted regularly to maintain your nervous system, you should be fueling your body with the substances it was meant to consume. You can be sure that you wouldn’t get very far if you put water in the gas tank of your car. So, why do we take better care of our automobiles than we do our bodies? Cars are replaceable, bodies are not.
*Note: Your genes are simply a blueprint for your body. Think of your genes as switches that turn on and off depending on what they are exposed to. Science has now shown that our lifestyle and environment determines how our genetic switches are flipped on and off. They turn on and off based on what signals they receive from their environment… AKA whatever is in your body. This means, just because something “runs in your family” does not mean you will definitely get it too! If you do, chances are it is probably because you learned a behavior from your relatives that resulted in you developing the same ailment (for example, same eating habits, work ethic, how you respond to stress, posture, etc).
So what is this Paleo Diet? Simply stated it is: fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, meats, oils and herbs/spices. Easy! To be sure, there are varying opinions on what truly constitutes “paleo”, and varying degrees of “strictness” if you will. However if you focus on one step at a time, and find what works for you, it will all come together.
I am fortunate to have a great support system on this journey! I am working on this together with the community at CrossFit Ambition in Chili. So for the rest of you looking to truly improve your quality of life I am happy to be part of your support system! Regardless of what office you visit, I am always available to help! Just send me an email or call me in Chili.
Recommended reading:
The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson.
Practical Paleo: A Customized Approach to Health and a Whole-Foods Lifestyle by Diane SanFilippo.
The internet – Fastpaleo and Paleomg are good websites
Olympic Kinesio-Taping
Everyone keeps asking, “what is that tape the 2012 London Olympians are wearing?” By now most of you have noticed the multi-colored tape the divers and volleyball players are donning along the shoulders, spinal muscles and iliotibial band. If you haven’t seen it, we call it Kinesio Tape™.
KinesioTape™ offers athletes increased range of motion, flexibility and stability. Kinesio Tape™ can even be applied for pain of muscle and bone. Want to know the cool thing about Kinesio Tape™? You don’t have to be an Olympian to get taped! Dr. Steph is our resident expert on Kinesio Taping™. If you like to maintain an active lifestyle, yet are experiencing an injury or pain related health concern, Kinesio Tape™ might be an option to get you on the road to healing.
At your next visit, ask us about this simple, yet efficient therapy.
More Services To Service Your Integrated Health
Have you seen our new services page? If not, you’ll want to. We bet you’ll want to know all of the dynamic techniques and services the chiropractic lifestyle can offer to optimize your total health!
What We Offer For Your Everyday Health
Whole-Person Chiropractic Care
Specialty Exercise Consultations-coming soon!
We Need Your Help!
We’re proud to be your trusted Rochester, New York chiropractors for reaching total health! We love hearing that you’re feeling well and making strides toward your health goals. We know you work hard and we appreciate being a part of your health journey. Your experiences and feedback are what help us help others.
Tell us how we’ve been able to help. What has the chiropractic lifestyle been able to help you achieve?
Some of you are rehabilitating from accidents or injury, seeing us for chronic health concerns, have entrusted us with the care of your children and family and are seeing us for everyday, integrative wellness. Whatever your need, we know others share similar concerns. With your feedback, we can all empower one another toward continued optimal health.
Please let us know if you’d like to offer your feedback to be featured here at Boehly Chiropractic. We value your comments and look forward to featuring your success here soon!
Financial Health: Part 2 – How Staying Healthy Can Make You Rich!
A few months ago I discussed the High Deducible Health Plan (HDHP) with all of you and we received some great feedback. Review that blog post here! This week I’d like to highlight something that goes hand and hand with the HDHP, the Health Savings Account (HSA)!
When you have a HDHP you are eligible to have a HSA. This is NOT an FSA (Flexible Spending Account). With an FSA if you “don’t use it you lose it” at the end of the year. Whereas the money in an HSA is always yours!
What is an HSA?
An HSA is a savings account that you can put money into for your “qualified healthcare expenses”…TAX FREE! Some employers will set up your HSA for you and give you some or part of that money as part of your benefits package. Others will load that money into your account from your paycheck tax free for you. While others may not set up the HSA or contribute to it, that is still definitely something you can do on your own! Important note – to be eligible to open an HSA as of 2011, your deductible must be at least $1200 if you are a single person, or $2400 on a family plan.
I purchase my own health insurance so I shopped around and found a bank I liked that offered an HSA. Then I move money into that account myself from my paycheck. To ensure I get the tax savings I just have to make sure I take that deduction when I file my taxes each year. Don’t forget, deductions for contributions made to a health savings account are allowed to be taken IN ADDITION TO the standard deduction. (NOTE: If your employer takes the money out for you, it is already pre-tax and therefore there would be no deduction for you to take). For more details and up to date information check Publication 969 from the IRS and discuss all of this with your accountant and/or financial planner.
This sounds like too much work…why bother?
Because by not doing this you are LOSING your hard earned cash! Lets say the government keeps 30% of your paycheck in taxes, and you have a $2,000 deductible. If you have an HSA that covers the amount of your deductible, you’re only spending $2,000. If you didn’t have an HSA you would be spending $600 more because it is post taxes. Yes there can be fees associated with having a health savings account but if you shop around you can find one that keeps them to a minimum and still end up saving. On the flip side of this, remember in many cases when you have a copay plan, the money you pay at your appointments is not tax free. This is something you should take into account when computing which plan is best for you and your family.
And how is this going to make me rich?
The IRS sets limits on how much you can put into an HSA. In 2010 a single person can put $3,050. But what if I don’t meet my deductible? The money stays in my account and accrues interest. What about next year? I can contribute another $3,050 (or whatever they set the maximum at). Even if I use part or all of my deductible, there will still be money in my account. Lets say I keep a HDHP until I turn 65. That is a lot of years! If you stay healthy you could have well over $100,000 set aside in that account. Guess what, once you turn 65 you can use that money on whatever you want (it does NOT have to be related to health care). Sounds like a great way to supplement your savings for retirement!
What does this have to with chiropractic?
It has been our experience that people who make chiropractic a regular/consistent part of their lives are more healthy. They don’t get sick or injured as often, they don’t miss as much time from work…the can enjoy their friends and family more, they have more time for hobbies and traveling, they are happier. In other words, the people who chose chiropractic truly LIVE.
We probably all define “living” differently, just like we probably all have our own definition of what “wealth” is. But no matter your definition, the take home message here is if you can attain more health you will most certainly attain more wealth! Chiropractic can help you attain more health…so what are you waiting for?! Call and make an appointment to get adjusted now. You can’t afford NOT to!
